The Bible is true, from first word to last. I know this to be fact because of the intellectual and spiritual journey I took, almost two decades ago, from feminst atheism to born-again faith in Jesus Christ.

If you'd like to know more, listen here -- it's a link to part one of a three-part interview conducted by Pastor Greg Huffman for The Word for Life radio program. (You'll find links to parts two and three here, too.)

Alternatively, take a look at this page or ​this one,and check out the excellent video here. After all, in the end, nothing's more important than the destination of your soul.

​Among my favorite novels are those written by Anne Parrish, my mother’s second favorite author when she was a young woman. Parrish was most famous for her children’s books, having been a three-time runner up for the Newbery Medal. But she also wrote some wonderful novels for adults, featuring characters from the somewhat noble to the extraordinarily flawed.Her finest story may be The Perennial Bachelor, set in the 19th century and published in 1925. (To give you an idea of how popular she was, its first printing was in June of 1925; my copy, from its seventh printing, was published in September of that same year.)I’m only guessing, since it can be difficult to find reviews of books written almost a century ago. But I have to think that one reason for Parrish’s popularity was her insight into the human heart. For instance, here’s a passage from The Perennial Bachelor – a description of the impoverished heroine’s visit to the house she’d lived in all her life, now owned and newly remodeled by a wealthy family:

“No matter what changes they made, Maggie thought, she could keep The Maples unchanged in her heart. When her home had been hers, she had never been able to hold it – the leaves fell, sunsets faded, darkness drank up the river, everything changed and passed like flowing water. But now that she had lost it, it was hers forever, immortal.”

This is certainly true of places that have been dear to us; I personally spend a great deal of time remembering, room by room, the house I grew up in, as well as the homes of my little friends. But it’s true, too, of our loved ones, and especially as we lose them to age and death. The longer these loved ones live, the less we are able to hold them, and the more painful it becomes to watch them deteriorate physically, mentally and emotionally. We may perhaps be able to relieve one source of misery today, but it will only be replaced by others tomorrow. And along the way, we become so preoccupied with the dying that we lose our beloved, often long before he or she draws that final breath.Ah, but then: Death not only frees our loved one from this decay; it frees us from the anguish of good-bye and into our fondest memories. To paraphrase Parrish, “Now that I have lost her, she is mine forever, immortal.”Of course, when this process involves followers of Jesus Christ, death is merely a temporary separation that will culminate in blissful reunion and eternal joy. And those wonderful memories provide exquisite comfort in the interim; surely that was by His design.Not so for the thoughtful unbeliever. He must realize early on that nothing can be his forevermore. And surely that must turn even the loveliest memories bitter.Fortunately, there’s good news for all: As long as we have breath, it’s not too late to receive the free gift of eternal life. You can do it today; and so can your loved ones. And then you can truly belong to each other “forever, immortal.”

I suppose this is just what we should expect from academia today: discrimination against, and persecution of, professors who refuse to toe the line of political correctness. Especially when those professors also happen to be (gasp) Bible-believing Christians.

Never mind that Dr. Bergman is probably the most educated human being to ever walk the halls of this community college, and probably the most widely published and knowledgeable professor any of these officials have ever encountered. Never mind the fact that his students have submitted glowing reviews of his teaching. These things don’t matter to academic bigots who consider religious convictions like his “not normal” and politics like his “too conservative.”

In Lynching, editor Kevin Wirth and the Academic Origins Science Research Defense Subcommittee have produced an important, compelling and highly readable book. It should be studied by every American who values academic freedom and truth. And it should be required reading for anyone thinking about pursuing, or underwriting, a college education in these United States.

It is a continuing source of amazement to me how often the Bible dispenses both great spiritual truth and down-to-earth practical advice in one fell swoop. And every spring I find new examples of this uncanny instruction right here in our own yard.

For some time, we've been trying to regenerate the worst spots in our ancient lawn, hoping not so much for a luxurious carpet of green but for something a little better than an eyesore. But this process has given me some new insights into lawn-making, thanks to all the time I’ve had to spend watering the new lawn by hand.

At first I was bored almost to tears with this daily chore; I’m not used to having so much time alone with my thoughts, without a Bible or book or blog to ponder, and no means of listening to radio, podcasts or music. But this solitude has given me a great deal of time to pray and think and take a closer look at the Wisconsin arm of God’s splendid creation.

And now that the grass is filling in, I’ve even had some fun observing what scripture tells me about His creation. For instance, in spite of all that fresh, clean topsoil we spread as a foundation, there are still stubborn spots where the grass refuses to grow – most likely, where our old spreader hiccupped and refused to drop seed. But these little islands have not remained bare; instead, they’ve become home to a huge variety of nasty weeds, the sort that plunge enormous tap roots into the soil almost as soon as they hit the ground.The other day, it occurred to me that this phenomenon is an apt demonstration of Luke 11:24-26: "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man," Jesus said, "he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

The solution? Next time, make sure that there’s plenty of good seed everywhere to stave off the bad. In the meantime, we'll wait to pull these new weeds, “lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them” (Matthew 13:29).

There’s been plenty of time, too, to inspect a few relatively neglected perennial beds. Some of their plants remind me of the rewards of patience, and how Christians are called to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12b). For a gardener, what better illustration of this principle could there be than seeing, for the first time ever, the lavender-blue spikes of a Baptisia australis planted at least five years ago? Well worth the wait! Hope I remember this in the years to come, Lord willing, as the Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ I just planted across the driveway chugs along, producing plenty of foliage with nary a bloom in sight.

I’ve also noticed the abrupt vanishing of some especially cheerful plants that are such a delight to come across in the summer garden, such as gaillardia and lupine. Short-lived perennials like these remind me of seed sown in stony soil which, as Jesus explained in His parable of the sower, “is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (Matthew 13:20-21).

In short, don’t expect plants with shallow root systems to provide more than a season or two of showy blooms.

Of course, once one begins reviewing this particular parable, the gardening parallels are endless – especially those involving the thorns that spring up and choke out all the good seed. No garden is without its thugs, and the aging gardener eventually throws up her trowel and gives up. Far better to spend our days tending to scripture’s spiritual truths, laboring to produce fruit for the Lord rather than feasts for our eyes.

Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. It's quite a challenge -- and another of the issues addressed in The Song of Sadie Sparrow, as in this excerpt from chapter 44:

Elise ChapelleWednesday, April 4

... Another sleepless night. At two forty-five, Elise finally decided to get up and work these issues out via “Advice for the Life-Worn.”

Dear Elise,

I know we are commanded to love our enemies. But I just can’t seem to do that with those who have hurt me. Any advice?

Beatrice

The question’s simplicity startled her.

That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?

She started typing at furious pace.

Dear Beatrice,

I imagine that most Christians struggle to love their enemies, but I keep coming back to one simple fact: it’s a direct command from the Lord, from the Sermon on the Mount, no less. “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

A wise man once said that knowledge is knowing scripture's commands, wisdom is knowing their applications, and understanding is knowing why they’re necessary. Let’s see how that applies to this verse.

Clearly, we’ve got the “knowledge” part down pat, in acknowledging what scripture says about loving our enemies. It doesn’t get much clearer than this, does it?

And the application? Equally easy. It applies across the board. Jesus did not say, “love your enemies unless they betrayed you in an especially hurtful manner,” or “bless those who curse you unless they are total hypocrites.”

But what about the understanding? Why are we to do this? I think we will find the key to obedience here, if we meditate on it sufficiently. That’s something you need to do yourself, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. But perhaps I can give you a start.

So why should we love our enemies, beyond it being a command of Christ?

Well, one reason would be to point them to Him, right? If we represent Him and our enemies hate us, then they hate Him. And we should share His desire for—as the apostle Paul told Timothy—all people “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” One of the best ways to support Him in this is to show His love to even those who have treated us like trash.

Here’s another reason: like all His commands, obeying this one is good for us.

If I hate, it tears me up inside. It wastes my time. It frustrates me as I go over and over and over the same territory in my mind and heart. It destroys me, and does nothing to hurt the object of my hatred.

Whereas if I love this person with the unconditional, self-sacrificing love of Christ, I not only demonstrate God’s agape love to him or her, I also see myself set free from all that inner turmoil and torment.

I’ve only scratched the surface here, Beatrice. Try meditating on these things in light of your own particular circumstances, and see where the Lord will lead you. It’s my prayer that you will find yourself changed.

Blessings,

Elise

Elise made some edits and posted the column before tumbling back into bed.

Amazing—I do feel free!

She suspected that it was only a temporary fix at this point, that she would need to reflect on this scripture at greater length and flex this flabby spiritual muscle in various tests before the changes could even approach permanence.

But she was already miles ahead of where she’d been just an hour ago, she knew.